Hose-and cord-winding device, binding element, and associated method

ABSTRACT

A hand-held cord and hose winding apparatus comprises, in accordance with the present invention, a handle member defining a winding axis and a winding assembly including a hub rotatably mounted to the handle member for rotation about the axis and further including a pair of discs attached to the hub for rotation therewith about the axis. The discs are spaced from one another along the hub. The winder further comprises a binding element removably connectable to the winding assembly for rotating therewith about the axis and for binding a flexible member wound in a coiled configuration on the hub by a turning of the winding assembly about the axis. At least one of the discs is removably attached to the hub for enabling a removal from the winding assembly of the flexible member in the coiled configuration together with the binding element.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a device for winding elongate flexible memberssuch as hoses and cords into coiled configurations. This invention alsorelates to an associated method for forming the coils.

Working with hoses and electrical cords or cables frequently entailsstoring those items in the intervals between successive usages. It isgenerally agreed that the most efficient form of storage is a coil. Ahose or cord may be arranged by hand, for instance, by coiling theelongate flexible member about a hand and an upper arm. However,everyone knows that no matter how carefully one winds material over thehand and forearm, when one attempts to unwind, the material will snagand tangle. This is very frustrating and a waste of time.

Winding devices have been provided for assisting in the disposition ofhoses and cords in coiled storage configurations. These known devicesstore the hose or cord on the device itself so that each hose or cordmust be provided with its own winding and storage device.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

A general object of the present invention is to provide an improvedhose- and cord-winding device.

Another general object of the present invention is to provide a newmethod for arranging elongate flexible members into wound storageconfigurations.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a hose- orcord-winding device that may be used for coiling multiple hoses and/orcords even while previously wound hoses and cords remain in their coiledstorage configurations.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a devicethat is easy to use.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide such adevice that easily winds elongate flexible members, allows the removalof the wound and bound material for neat storage, and permits the returnof the wound material to the winding assembly to enable a quickunwinding of the material, tangle-free.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a devicethat is inexpensive to manufacture.

These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe drawings and descriptions herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A hand-held cord and hose winding apparatus comprises, in accordancewith the present invention, a handle member defining a winding axis anda winding assembly including a hub rotatably mounted to the handlemember for rotation about the axis and further including a pair of discsattached to the hub for rotation therewith about the axis. The discs arespaced from one another along the hub. The winder further comprises abinding element removably connectable to the winding assembly forrotating therewith about the axis and for binding a flexible memberwound in a coiled configuration on the hub by a turning of the windingassembly about the axis. At least one of the discs is removably attachedto the hub for enabling a removal from the winding assembly of theflexible member in the coiled configuration together with the bindingelement.

Pursuant to additional features of the present invention, the bindingelement is an elongate tensile element binding the flexible member inthe coiled configuration by wrapping around the coiled flexible memberand is provided with a coupling element slidably secured to the tensileelement for fastening one end of the flexible member to the hub prior tothe winding operation. The tensile element may have a specific formincluding two parallel strands, the coupling element connecting thestrands to one another to form therewith a coupling loop of variablesize. The coupling element may be a band surrounding the strands.

Pursuant to another feature of the present invention, the tensileelement is provided with a second coupling element for rotatablysecuring an end of the tensile element to the handle member and morespecifically to a projecting end of an axle of the handle member. Thus,the tensile element can rotate with the winding assembly relative to theaxle of the handle member. The second coupling element may also beslidably secured to the tensile element. Where the tensile element hastwo parallel strands, the second coupling element connects the strandsto one another to form therewith a coupling loop of variable size.

Pursuant to a further feature of the present invention, the tensileelement is provided with a stop block at an end opposite the secondcoupling element. Where the discs of the winding assembly are formedwith slots traversable by the tensile element, the stop block is arelatively large element (such as a knob) that prevents the tensileelement from being pulled through one of the slots. The stop block isdisposable on an outer side of one of the discs opposite the hub, whilethe second coupling element is disposable on an outer side of anotherone of the discs opposite the hub and the tensile element is disposablein part in a linear configuration along the hub between the slots.

The discs are spaced from one another along the hub to define therewitha substantially toroidal winding volume. One portion of the tensileelement is disposable along the hub and another portion of the tensileelement is disposable effectively outside of the toroidal winding volumeduring a winding operation. The flexible member is wound about the oneportion of the tensile element during the winding operation. After thewinding operation, the other portion of the tensile element is wrappedabout an outer side of the wound flexible member to bind the same.

The tensile element is provided with coupling components at oppositeends for maintaining the one portion of the tensile element disposedalong the hub and the other portion of the tensile element outside ofthe toroidal winding volume. The stop block or knob serves in part asone such coupling element, while a slider serves in part as anothercoupling element. The slider ends the user to form a loop, slide theloop over a free end of the axle, and then close the loop about theaxle.

The handle member preferably includes a handgrip disposed on one side ofthe hub. The removable disc is disposed on a side of the hub oppositethe handgrip.

A hand-held cord and hose winding apparatus comprises, in accordancewith a particular embodiment of the present invention, a handle memberwith a winding axis and a winding assembly including a hub rotatablymounted to the handle member for rotation about the axis and furtherincluding a pair of discs attached to the hub for rotation therewithabout the axis. The discs are spaced from one another along the hub todefine therewith a substantially toroidal winding volume. An elongatetensile element is removably connectable to the winding assembly forrotation therewith about the axis. Connector components are provided onthe tensile element for cooperating with corresponding structure on atleast one of the winding assembly and the handle member to hold a firstportion of the tensile element along the hub between the discs during awinding operation and to maintain a second portion of the tensileelement outside of the toroidal winding volume during the windingoperation and for locking the tensile element, after termination of thewinding operation, in a loop about a coiled flexible member arrangedaround the hub and in the toroidal winding volume during the windingoperation. At least one of the discs is removable from the hub aftertermination of the winding operation, to permit removal of the coiledflexible member together with the looped tensile element.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the tensileelement is provided with a slider or other coupling device for enablinga fastening of one end of the flexible member to the hub prior to thewinding operation. Where the tensile element has two parallel strands,the slider connects the strands to one another to form therewith acoupling loop of variable size.

The connector components may include a stop block (e.g., knob) at oneend of the tensile element and a slider at another end of the tensileelement, the slider serving to generate a variably sized loop. Where thediscs are formed with slots traversable by the tensile element, the stopblock is disposable on an outer side of one of the discs opposite thehub, while the slider is disposable on an outer side of another one ofthe discs opposite the hub, the tensile element being disposable in partin a linear configuration along the hub between the slots.

A hose and cord binder comprises, in accordance with the presentinvention, a flexible tensile element folded back on itself to form apair of parallel strands, a connector coupling free ends of the strandsto one another, and at least one slider connected to the strands to formthe strands into at least two contiguous loop portions each of avariable size.

The flexible tensile element is preferably an elastic member such as abungee cord. The connector may be a knob-shaped stop block, while theslider is a band substantially surrounding the strands of the tensileelement.

Preferably, the slider is one of two sliders on the tensile member. Oneslider serves to form a variably sized loop enabling a user to insert afree end of a hose or cord to be wound. The slider is moved in onedirection to enlarge the loop for facilitating hose or cord insertionand in an opposite direction to close the loops about the inserted hoseor cord. In this manner the hose or cord may be fastened to a windingassembly, specifically to a hub of a winding member.

A method for winding an elongate flexible member into a coil comprises,in accordance with the present invention, providing a winder having ahandle and a sheave-type winding member rotably mounted to the handle,rotating the winding member about a rotation axis so that the flexiblemember forms a coiled configuration on the winding member, binding theflexible member in the coiled configuration while the flexible member isdisposed on the winding member, and removing the bound flexible memberin the coiled configuration from the winding member.

In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, bindingof the flexible member includes wrapping a tensile binding element aboutthe flexible member in the coiled configuration. A free end of theflexible member is attached to the winding member prior to the rotatingof the winding member. The attaching of the flexible member to thewinding member may include attaching the free end of the flexible memberto the tensile binding element and attaching the tensile binding elementto the winding member.

Where winding member includes a pair of discs spaced from one anotheralong a hub, the attaching of the tensile binding element to the windingmember includes inserting the tensile binding element along slots in thediscs. The slots are preferably at least partially radial slots, so thatthe inerting of the tensile element occurs at least partially in aradial direction, relative to the hub and the rotation axis of thewinder.

In accordance with an additional feature of the present invention, thebinding of the flexible member in the coiled configuration includeswrapping a loose portion of the tensile binding element about the coiledconfiguration and locking the wrapped tensile binding element in a loopabout the coil so as to maintain the flexible member in the coiledconfiguration.

The tensile binding element is preferably attached to the winding memberprior to the rotating of the winding member, the coiled configuration ofthe flexible member being formed about a portion of the tensile bindingelement.

A method for winding an elongate flexible member into a coil comprises,in accordance with a more specific embodiment of the present invention,providing a winder having a handle and a sheave-type winding memberrotably mounted to the handle, attaching a tensile binding element tothe winding member, attaching a free end of the flexible member to thewinding member over a portion of the tensile binding element, rotatingthe winding member about a rotation axis so that the flexible memberforms a coil on the winding member about the portion of the tensilebinding element, wrapping a loose portion of the tensile binding elementabout the coil, locking the wrapped tensile binding element in a loopabout the coil so as to maintain the flexible member as the coil, andremoving the coil and the tensile binding element from the windingmember.

Where the winding member includes a hub and a pair of spaced discsattached to the hub, the removing of the coil and the tensile bindingelement from the winding member includes removing one of the discs fromthe hub and sliding the coil off of the hub. Where the discs are formedwith respective slots, the attaching of the tensile binding element tothe winding member includes sliding the tensile binding element alongeach of the slots in a radial direction relative to the hub.

The attaching of the free end of the flexible member to the windingmember may be implemented by attaching the free end to the tensilebinding element. The attaching of the free end of the flexible member tothe winding member may further include shifting a slider along thetensile binding element to change a size of a coupling loop in thetensile binding element, the attaching of the flexible member to thewinding member additionally including inserting the free end through thecoupling loop.

The present invention provides a winding device for arranging elongateflexible members such as hoses and cords into wound storageconfigurations. The device may be used for coiling multiple hoses and/orcords even while previously wound hoses and cords remain in their coiledstorage configurations. The device is easy to use.

A winding apparatus in accordance with the present invention easilywinds elongate flexible members such as cords and hoses and allows theremoval of the wound and bound material for neat storage. Moreover, awinding apparatus in accordance with the present invention permits thereturn of the wound material to the winding assembly to enable a quickunwinding of the material, tangle-free.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a hose and cord winding apparatusin accordance with the present invention, showing a binding element anda winder.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the binding element of FIGS. 1-3 inan unstressed configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, a hand-held cord and hose winding apparatuscomprises a winder 10 and a binding element 12. Winder 10 includes ahandle member 14 having a hand grip 16 and an axle 18 defining a windingaxis 20. Winder 10 further includes a sheave-type winding assembly 21rotatably mounted to axle 18 of handle member 14 for rotation aboutwinding axis 20. Winding assembly 21 in turn includes a tapered hub 20and a pair of discs 24 and 26.

Discs 24 and 26 are attached to hub 22 for rotation therewith about axis20. Discs 24 and 26 are spaced from one another along hub 22 so as todefine a toroidal space or volume (not separately designated) forreceiving a hose, cord or other flexible elongate member during awinding operation.

Binding element 12 is removably connectable to winder 10 as illustratedin FIG. 1 for rotating with about axis 20 and for binding a hose, cordor other flexible member wound in a coiled configuration on hub 22 by aturning of winding assembly 21 about axis 20. At least one disc 26 isremovably attached to hub 22 for enabling a removal from windingassembly 21 of the flexible member in the coiled configuration togetherwith binding element 12.

Binding element 12 is used in part to bind the wound hose, cord or otherflexible member in a coiled configuration. As illustrated in FIG. 1,binding element 12 has a first portion 30 that is disposed in a linearconfiguration along hub 22 and parallel to axis 20 during a windingoperation and a second portion 32 that is disposed effectively outsideof the toroidal winding volume during the winding operation. The hose,cord or other flexible member is wound about portion 30 of bindingelement 12 during the winding operation. After the winding operation,portion 32 of binding element 12 is wrapped about an outer side of thewound flexible member to bind the same.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, binding element 12 is an elongate tensileelement made of elastic material such as bungee cord folded back onitself to form a pair of parallel strands 34 and 36. A connector 38 inthe form of a knob, block or ball couples free ends of strands 34 and 36to one another. Two sliders 40 and 42 are connected to strands 34 and 36to form the strands into three loop portions 44, 46, and 48 each of avariable size. Sliders 40 and 42 may take the form of metal bandssubstantially surrounding strands 34 and 36 of binding element 12.

Slider 40 is moved away from knob or block 38 to increase the size ofloop 44 to enable a user to insert a free end of a hose, cord or otherflexible member to be wound. After insertion of the free end of theflexible member through enlarged loop 44, slider 40 is moved towardsknob or block 38 to close loop 44 about the flexible member. Bindingelement 12 with the flexible member coupled thereto is then insertedalong a slot 50 in disc 24, so that knob or block 38 lies along theoutside of the disc, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and so that the end ofthe flexible member, captured in loop 44, is disposed alongside hub 22.The other end of binding element 12 is then inserted through a slot 52in disc 26, and loop 48 is looped about a projecting end 54 of axle 18,as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Prior to this step, slider 42 is shiftedalong stands 34 and 36 towards knob or block 38, thereby enlarging loop48. After the looping of loop 48 about the free or projecting end 54 ofaxle 18, slider 42 may be shifted in an opposite direction along strands34 and 36, to tighten loop 48 about axle 18 and securely couple orconnect the respective en of binding element 18 to the winding assembly21.

Thus, binding element 18 serves in part to fasten a hose, cord or otherflexible member to winding assembly 21 at the onset of a windingoperation. As indicated above, binding element 12 also serves tosubsequently hold the flexible member in a wound or coiledconfiguration.

After the attachment of the flexible member to winding assembly 21 viabinding element 12, the user holds handgrip 16 of handle member 14 withone hand and turns the winding assembly 21 about axis 20 with the otherhand. To effectuate the rotation, that hand grasps a rotation knob 56 ondisc 26. During the winding operation, loop 48 turns about theprojecting end 54 of axle 18. Thus, binding element 18 rotates withwinding assembly 21.

After a completion of the winding operation, i.e., after the flexiblemember has been entirely taken up onto winding assembly 21, in thetoroidal space defined by hub 22 and discs 24 and 26, binding element 12is manipulated to bind the wound flexible member to itself. Moreparticularly, slider 42 is shifted along strands 34 and 36 away fromaxle end 54 to enlarge loop 48, which is then slid off of the axle.Binding element 12 is then wrapped around the wound flexible member.During this wrapping operation, binding element 12 is slid in partradially outwardly along slot 52 and inserted in part radially inwardlyalong slot 50. Loop 48 is then looped about knob or block 38 and closedthereon by shifting slider 42 along strands 34 and 36 towards the knobor block. Loop 48 and knob or block 38 cooperate to lock binding element12 to the wound flexible member.

After the closing of loop 48 about knob or block 38, disc 26 is removedfrom axle 18, thereby enabling a sliding of the wound and bound flexiblemember off of hub 22. Hub 22 has a smaller diameter at disc 26 than atdisc 24, which facilitates the removal of the wound and bound flexiblemember. Thereafter the wound and bound flexible member is suspended froma hook (not shown) or laid on a horizontal surface or otherwise stored.Disc 26 may be remounted to axle 18 for enabling another windingoperation.

To unwind a coiled flexible member, the above-described process isreversed. Again, the tapered profile of hub 22 facilitates the easysliding of the coiled flexible member onto the hub for rewinding. Thereturn of the wound material to hub 22 and the subsequent unwinding ofthe material occurs quickly and tangle-free.

Handle member 14 may be provided with a pivoting joint (not shown)permitting a shifting of handgrip 16 from the illustrated orientationparallel to disc 24 to an orientation substantially perpendicular todisc 24. The variability in handgrip orientation facilitates use of thecord and hose winding apparatus to wind flexible members that aredisposed along different paths. For example, where strings of holidayelectrical lights are disposed along railing or on vegetation, theperpendicular handgrip orientation may be used.

Although the invention has been described in terms of particularembodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in lightof this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modificationswithout departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of theclaimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawingsand descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitatecomprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit thescope thereof.

1. A hand-held cord and hose winding apparatus comprising: a handlemember defining a winding axis; a winding assembly including a hubrotatably mounted to said handle member for rotation about said axis andfurther including a pair of discs attached to said hub for rotationtherewith about said axis, said discs being spaced from one anotheralong said hub; and a binding element removably connectable to saidwinding assembly for rotating therewith about said axis and for bindinga flexible member wound in a coiled configuration on said hub by aturning of said winding assembly about said axis, at least one of saiddiscs being removably attached to said hub for enabling a removal fromsaid winding assembly of the flexible member in said coiledconfiguration together with said binding element.
 2. The windingapparatus recited in claim 1 wherein said binding element is an elongatetensile element binding said flexible member in said coiledconfiguration by wrapping around the coiled flexible member.
 3. Thewinding apparatus recited in claim 2 wherein said tensile element isprovided with a coupling element for fastening one end of said flexiblemember to said hub prior to said winding operation.
 4. The windingapparatus recited in claim 3 wherein said coupling element is slidablysecured to said tensile element.
 5. The winding apparatus recited inclaim 4 wherein said tensile element has two parallel strands and saidcoupling element connects said strands to one another to form therewitha coupling loop of variable size.
 6. The winding apparatus recited inclaim 5 wherein said coupling element is a band surrounding saidstrands.
 7. The winding apparatus recited in claim 3 wherein saidcoupling element is a first coupling element, said tensile element beingprovided with a second coupling element for rotatably securing an end ofsaid tensile element to said handle member.
 8. The winding apparatusrecited in claim 7 wherein said second coupling element is slidablysecured to said tensile element.
 9. The winding apparatus recited inclaim 8 wherein said tensile element has two parallel strands and saidsecond coupling element connects said strands to one another to formtherewith a coupling loop of variable size.
 10. The winding apparatusrecited in claim 7 wherein said tensile element is provided with a stopblock at an end of said tensile element opposite said second couplingelement, said discs being formed with slots traversable by said tensileelement, said stop block being disposable on an outer side of one ofsaid discs opposite said hub, said second coupling element beingdisposable on an outer side of another one of said discs opposite saidhub, said tensile element being disposable in part in a linearconfiguration along said hub between said slots.
 11. The windingapparatus recited in claim 2 wherein said discs are spaced from oneanother along said hub to define therewith a substantially toroidalwinding volume, one portion of said tensile element being disposablealong said hub and another portion of said tensile element beingdisposable effectively outside of said toroidal winding volume during awinding operation, so that said flexible member is wound about said oneportion of said tensile element during said winding operation and sothat said another portion of said tensile element is wrapped about anouter side of the wound flexible member to bind the same on terminationof said winding operation.
 12. The winding apparatus recited in claim 11wherein said discs are provided with slots traversable by said tensileelement.
 13. The winding apparatus recited in claim 12 wherein saidtensile element is provided with coupling means at opposite ends formaintaining said one portion of said tensile element disposed along saidhub and said another portion of said tensile element outside of saidtoroidal winding volume.
 14. The winding apparatus recited in claim 13wherein said coupling means includes a stop block at one end and aslidable coupling band at an opposite end.
 15. The winding apparatusrecited in claim 1 wherein said discs are provided with slotstraversable by said binding element.
 16. The winding apparatus recitedin claim 1 wherein said handle member includes a handgrip disposed onone side of said hub, said one of said discs being disposed on a side ofsaid hub opposite said handgrip.
 17. A hand-held cord and hose windingapparatus comprising: a handle member defining a winding axis; a windingassembly including a hub rotatably mounted to said handle member forrotation about said axis and further including a pair of discs attachedto said hub for rotation therewith about said axis, said discs beingspaced from one another along said hub to define therewith asubstantially toroidal winding volume; an elongate tensile elementremovably connectable to said winding assembly for rotation therewithabout said axis; and connector means on said tensile element forcooperating with corresponding structure on at least one of said windingassembly and said handle member to hold a first portion of said tensileelement along said hub between said discs during a winding operation andto maintain a second portion of said tensile element outside of saidtoroidal winding volume during said winding operation and for lockingsaid tensile element, after termination of said winding operation, in aloop about a coiled flexible member arranged around said hub and in saidtoroidal winding volume during said winding operation, at least one ofsaid discs being removable from said hub after termination of saidwinding operation, to permit removal of said coiled flexible membertogether with the looped tensile element.
 18. The winding apparatusrecited in claim 17 wherein said tensile element is provided withcoupling means for fastening one end of said flexible member to said hubprior to said winding operation.
 19. The winding apparatus recited inclaim 18 wherein said coupling means includes a slider on said tensileelement.
 20. The winding apparatus recited in claim 19 wherein saidtensile element has two parallel strands and said slider connects saidstrands to one another to form therewith a coupling loop of variablesize.
 21. The winding apparatus recited in claim 17 wherein saidconnector means includes coupling means for rotatably securing an end ofsaid tensile element to said handle member.
 22. The winding apparatusrecited in claim 21 wherein said coupling means is a slider secured tosaid tensile element.
 23. The winding apparatus recited in claim 22wherein said tensile element has two parallel strands and said sliderconnects said strands to one another to form therewith a coupling loopof variable size.
 24. The winding apparatus recited in claim 17 whereinsaid connector means includes a stop block at one end of said tensileelement and a slider at another end of said tensile element.
 25. Thewinding apparatus recited in claim 24 wherein said discs are formed withslots traversable by said tensile element, said stop block beingdisposable on an outer side of one of said discs opposite said hub, saidslider being disposable on an outer side of another one of said discsopposite said hub, said tensile element being disposable in part in alinear configuration along said hub between said slots.
 26. The windingapparatus recited in claim 17 wherein said discs are provided with slotstraversable by said tensile element.
 27. The winding apparatus recitedin claim 17 wherein said handle member includes a handgrip disposed onone side of said hub, said one of said discs being disposed on a side ofsaid hub opposite said handgrip.
 28. A hose and cord binder comprising:a flexible tensile element folded back on itself to form a pair ofparallel strands; a connector coupling free ends of said strands to oneanother; and at least one slider connected to said strands to form saidstrands into at least two contiguous loop portions each of a variablesize.
 29. The binder recited in claim 28 wherein said flexible tensileelement is an elastic member.
 30. The binder recited in claim 28 whereinsaid connector is a knob shaped stop block.
 31. The binder recited inclaim 28 wherein said slider is a band substantially surrounding saidstrands.
 32. The binder recited in claim 28 wherein said slider is oneof at least two sliders connected to said strands to form said strandsinto at least three contiguous loop portions each of a variable size.33. A method for winding an elongate flexible member into a coil, saidmethod comprising: providing a winder having a handle and a sheave-typewinding member rotably mounted to said handle; rotating said windingmember about a rotation axis so that said flexible member forms a coiledconfiguration on said winding member; binding said flexible member insaid coiled configuration while said flexible member is disposed on saidwinding member; and removing the bound flexible member in said coiledconfiguration from said winding member.
 34. The method recited in claim33 wherein the binding of said flexible member includes wrapping atensile binding element about said flexible member in said coiledconfiguration.
 35. The method recited in claim 34, further comprisingattaching a free end of the flexible member to said winding member priorto the rotating of said winding member.
 36. The method recited in claim35 wherein the attaching of said flexible member to said winding memberincludes attaching said free end of said flexible member to said tensilebinding element and attaching said tensile binding element to saidwinding member.
 37. The method recited in claim 36 wherein the windingmember includes a pair of discs spaced from one another along a hub, theattaching of said tensile binding element to said winding memberincluding inserting said tensile binding element along slots in saiddiscs.
 38. The method recited in claim 34 wherein the binding of saidflexible member in said coiled configuration includes: wrapping a looseportion of said tensile binding element about the coiled configuration;and locking the wrapped tensile binding element in a loop about saidcoil so as to maintain said flexible member in said coiledconfiguration.
 39. The method recited in claim 34, further comprisingattaching said tensile binding element to said winding member prior tothe rotating of said winding member, said coiled configuration beingformed about a portion of said tensile binding element.
 40. A method forwinding an elongate flexible member into a coil, said method comprising:providing a winder having a handle and a sheave-type winding memberrotably mounted to said handle; attaching a tensile binding element tosaid winding member; attaching a free end of the flexible member to saidwinding member over a portion of said tensile binding element; rotatingsaid winding member about a rotation axis so that said flexible memberforms a coil on said winding member about said portion of said tensilebinding element; wrapping a loose portion of said tensile bindingelement about the coil; locking the wrapped tensile binding element in aloop about said coil so as to maintain said flexible member as saidcoil; and removing said coil and said tensile binding element from saidwinding member.
 41. The method recited in claim 40 wherein said windingmember includes a hub and a pair of spaced discs attached to said hub,the removing of said coil and said tensile binding element from saidwinding member including removing one of said discs from said hub andsliding said coil off of said hub.
 42. The method recited in claim 40wherein said winding member includes a hub and a pair of spaced discsattached to said hub, said discs being formed with respective slots, theattaching of said tensile binding element to said winding memberincluding sliding said tensile binding element along each of said slotsin a radial direction relative to said hub.
 43. The method recited inclaim 40 wherein the attaching of said free end of said flexible memberto said winding member includes attaching said free end to said tensilebinding element.
 44. The method recited in claim 43 wherein theattaching of said free end of said flexible member to said windingmember further includes shifting a slider along said tensile bindingelement to change a size of a coupling loop in said tensile bindingelement, the attaching of said flexible member to said winding memberadditionally including inserting said free end through said couplingloop.